Acquisitions: Song, Locke, Therese, Words, Kind

With the Toronto Film Festival still in full swing, acquisition deals are happening all over the place. Here’s the breakdown on the most recent major ones.

The Weinstein Company have picked up the U.S. rights to “Once” director John Carney’s “Can a Song Save Your Life” for $7 million (along with a $20 million advertising commitment). The film stars Mark Ruffalo as a New York record producer and Keira Knightly as an aspiring musician.

A24 Films has scored the rights to the Steven Knight-directed, Tom Hardy star vehicle “Locke”. The story follows a man whose life unravels in virtual real time while he is at the wheel of his car.

Focus Features has snapped up worldwide distribution rights to Jason Bateman’s directorial debut, the dark comedy “Bad Words,” for a whopping $7 million. Bateman plays a foul-mouthed high-school dropout who enters a national children’s spelling bee through a registration loophole.

Finally, Magnolia Pictures has snapped up U.S. rights to the romantic comedy “The Right Kind Of Wrong” starring Ryan Kwanten, Sara Canning, Catherine O’Hara and Will Sasso. Kwanten portrays a dishwasher and failed writer made famous by his ex-wife’s blog, “Why You Suck.”